


When dates evolve

by LetoaSai



Series: Riku's Sky [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Atlantica (Kingdom Hearts), Bad Puns, Bilingual, Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Native Language, Nostalgia, date, merfolk, pretend shifting into reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 13:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20931245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: Sora's been dying to finally take Riku to Atlantica. Riku's all to happy to let him.





	When dates evolve

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney 
> 
> Italics = Different language

“Darling it’s better, down where it’s wetter!” 

Riku hadn’t the faintest idea what Sora was talking about when he’d pounced on him that morning singing some silly song. He’d grabbed Riku’s wrist with calloused fingers and batted his eyes at him teasingly. “No missions and a day off from training means i get to take you someplace fun!” 

Riku could have declined had he had the ability to truly say no to Sora. As it was, he didn’t. Not over a matter like this. With hardly a goodbye to anyone else, Sora pulled a willing Riku along with him to the gummi ship and had said very unhelpfully that they were going to Atlantica. 

Riku knew little about the place beyond it being a water world and such but he was wholly unprepared for the freezing cold, drowning sensation that hit him the second they arrived. 

Under the sea actually meant under the freaking sea! 

He kicked up once, something not feeling right as his hands went over his mouth. He held his breath but panic set it when the surface wasn’t close by.

“Riku, it’s okay! I’m so sorry! I didn’t think to mention it!” Sora cupped his face. “We can breathe!” 

Riku slit his eyes open, his heart still pounding a mile a minute. This was absolutely insane, but not trusting Sora had gotten him a temporary stay in the world of darkness. He exhaled and found the motion to be useless. 

“E kala mai iaʻu.” (1) Sora mumbled, stroking Riku’s hair. “Everything’s fine.” 

It was a lot to take in, but with the panic slowly draining away he was still okay. “What the...hell?” Riku muttered. 

“Gills!” Sora supplied helpfully and overly cheerful. He touched the side of his neck gently. “Right there.” 

“Gills?” Riku repeated slowly, not understanding until he reared back and got a good look at Sora. He was… did this count as naked? The only thing he really wore was his crown necklace around his throat. His hair flowed and moved around his face and he was reminded just how much training had paid off given Sora’s well defined stomach muscles. It was from the hips down that Riku had trouble believing what he was seeing. A tail, one huge fish tail? It was a blue only a shade or two darker than his eyes, bespeckled with teeny tiny black spots. Similarly colored fins drifted in the water off Sora’s waist and he swished back and forth in the water to let Riku have a good look. It was...ethereal? 

“Wow…” Riku blinked. 

“You make a pretty picture yourself.” Sora laughed. How did laughing work under water? 

Riku looked down at himself and found himself similarly undressed with a tail that nearly matched Sora’s. His back side seemed to be a darker gray that faded to blue around the front. 

“What’s going on?” Riku said, trying to move forward and floundering to regain his balance. He was a fantastic swimmer. It was practically a prerequisite to growing up on Destiny Island but he had legs then. “Ah!” 

“I got you.” Sora sang, looking fond instead of smirking like he once would have at getting to be better at something than Riku. “I was awful my first trip here. Took me ages to get used to it. It really messed with my depth perception too.” He carefully held onto Riku’s arms and pulled him upright. 

“Are we actually…?” 

“Mermaids!” Sora beamed. “Or mermen? Merfolk? I am not up on the terminology, Riku. Just enjoy it. I’ll teach you the basics to swimming and then we can explore! It’s so cool!” 

“I was going to say mo'o (2) but thinking about that would just hurt my head.” 

Riku looked around hesitantly, watching his tail flick when he wanted it to before nodding to himself. It was dark under the water but he could still see fine. There were all kinds of fish around them that didn’t seem to pay any attention to them at all. They’d been to all kinds of worlds but this one seemed so alien and so nostalgic.

“Okay,” Riku finally agreed, pushing a stray strand of hair out of his face. “Teach me to swim then.” 

Not putting up a fight, or stubbornly trying to figure it out on his own put the biggest smile on Sora’s face and made Riku’s heart thud a little harder for different reasons. After everything they’d been through, this was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to spend his day doing with Sora.

They spent a good twenty minutes on the basics and Riku was silently horrified that Sora had to fight heartless like this. It was a pain in the ass to even move let alone try to fight something. Sora taught him to go forward and back; to rise and to dive and there was something magical about gliding through the water. It was strange how graceful they were one moment and sluggish the next when certain movements weren’t as sharp as they were on land. 

“You okay there?” Riku teased when Sora seemed to wobble himself. 

Sora chuckled and nodded. “I guess i grew more than i thought. My tail is much longer than it was last time i was here. Longer than any of the other mermaids i saw before.” He pouted. “And you’re longer still. Maybe because you’re taller?” 

“Could be?” Riku said, moving around better than before. “Only thing left is to really practice. Want to explore?” 

“Yes! It’s about time we seas the day.” Sora said it with a grin but his chuckles grew until he was actually laughing at himself. 

“No puns.” 

“Yeah, buoy.” 

“I forbid you from talking.” Riku said, shoving Sora away to swim passed him. He didn’t go as far as he would have liked and given how well Sora could swim it had little effect. 

“Okay, okay.” Sora laughed. “Couldn’t kelp myself.” 

“I will disown you, kuʻu lani.” 

Sora laughed, pushing up close to Riku and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I like being under water, it’s so much easier to be your height.” 

“Don’t get used to it,” Riku muttered as a small smile took over. His tail brushed against Sora’s and both of them went bright red at the shivers that ran up their spines. “Um?” 

“That’s...new.” Sora mumbled. “At least i think it is…” 

“Nerves work a little differently in this form i guess,” Riku managed a shy grin. “Either way, as long as it’s with me it should be okay, right?” 

Sora’s soft smile returned, “Right.” He took Riku’s hand and pulled him through the water, taking him to Ariel’s grotto. He was sure she wouldn’t mind and it was a little sad she wouldn’t be making an appearance given that she lived on land now. 

It had been quite some time but he still remembered the way, all the while telling Riku about the shark he’d outrun and the Sea Witch Ursula. 

“What is this place?” Riku asked as they swam into Ariel’s treasure trove. It seemed that she had continued to work on it before she’d left to live with Prince Eric. 

“Ariel, the mermaid i was telling you about, she liked to collect human things.” Sora said, “Things from shipwrecks and stuff that she didn’t understand.” He held up a fork. “This was her hair brush.” 

Riku snorted, “It’s funny but i’ve been to enough worlds looking like a clueless idiot over a regular item there to feel for her. Some things are just confusing when you’ve never had one.” 

Sora hummed his agreement. “I guess she pretended to have legs as a kid the way we pretended…” He went pink. “Well this isn’t the first time we pretended we were mo’o, is it?” 

“First time, no. Best time, maybe.” Riku chuckled, brushing his tail against Sora’s again. “Guess other beaches have the better waves no matter where you are. C’mere kuʻu lani.” He wove his tail around Sora’s body and held him close. Really how many opportunities would they have to kiss underwater? Sora was already moaning before their lips met, the endearment wrecking him every bit as much as the kiss itself. 

It took some getting used to but floating really was the way to go. No matter which way they pushed the water current continued to push them one way and then another. 

“Gills are awesome…” Riku muttered, already happy to not need to pull away for air. 

Sora shivered, curled up against Riku’s chest. “Mine are working overtime.” To say that Riku was smug was an understatement. “There’s more i want you to see. The shipwreck at the very least. Maybe the palace too but King Triton is a bit of a downer with the World Order thing.” 

“Saying hello might be polite then.” Riku said, unable to resist the urge to drag his fingers down Sora’s stomach one more time before pulling away. 

“You’re so mean…” Sora mumbled, running his fingers through his hair that just made it flow around his head more. “Let’s go. Atlantica is a great sight.” 

“I’m sure,” Riku said, gripping Sora’s wrist and swimming along with him back out of the grotto. He let Sora take the lead again once out in the open and couldn’t help but think how many of their childhood dreams this one trip was fulfilling. They would wander around the play island, pretending to fend off pirate, or pretending to be the pirates. They would dive into the water and pretend they lived there, that they could breathe underwater just like they were now. More than once they’d set out offerings to whatever spirit might have been nearby and always wished to be together forever. 

Maybe one of those spirits had actually come through for them. 

Riku loved those days with Sora when it had just been the two of them. They had only been children and he hardly knew the significance of his connection to Sora then. Now he liked to think of those days as practice dates. This one was definitely like all of those old days had evolved to this moment. 

Riku hadn’t expected to see a city that seemed so bright underwater, but Atlantica was aglow. There were merpeople everywhere, seemingly in the middle of a perfectly normal day for them. The structures that were built were baffling and he couldn’t even begin to figure out what they were made out of until they were much closer. Under sea life must have been incredible. 

“He nani ia.” (3) Riku muttered almost more to himself that to Sora. 

“It is.” Sora agreed. “I’m getting more looks than i did before though. Maybe because i was with Ariel last time. A princess bringing you in probably makes a difference.” 

Riku grunted once. “Possible? We do look a little different though. You said you’d changed a bit since you were last here?” 

“Yeah, I blended in much better than.” Sora paused. “Maybe my World Order Magic isn’t as good as Donald’s. Maybe coming here was not one of my most brilliant ideas.” 

Riku chuckled, linking his arm with Sora’s again. “Then we apologize and explore further away next time.” He was going to say more but mermen appeared, guards if their attire was anything to go by. Without a word they gestured for Sora and Riku to follow them and Sora recognized the way to the throne room instantly. It was strange that he’d once come and gone as he pleased. Things must have returned back to normal once the heartless were gone. 

_“I think we’re going to see the king,” _Sora mumbled, getting strange looks from the guards. 

_“You’ve already know him, right?” _

_“Yeah.”_

_“I wonder if this kind of welcome is good or bad.” _

Sora nodded. _“Maybe we should have gone to see Ariel instead.” _

There was a rush of noise that Riku would have compared to a music just before the king appeared through an arch way. With his beard flowing, he was exactly what Riku had pictured. 

“Sora. It’s good to see you.” He greeted, and was warmer then they were starting to expect. 

“You too, your Majesty.” Sora said as he bowed, knowing Riku would follow along behind him. “Forgive the intrusion. I wanted to check in.” Sora continued slowly. “Make sure there was no trouble again.” 

It was one hundred percent a lie but them checking on the world was plausible and they would help if they were needed. 

King Triton nodded and took in their appearances calmly. “Things have more or less settled here since your last visit. We have you to thank for that.” 

Sora sighed, actually relieved. It was nice for a world to stay peaceful for once. 

“I assume this friend of yours is a similar traveler?” 

“Oh, I’m Riku.” Riku said quickly, bowing his head again. “Yes, Sora was introducing me to your beautiful home.” 

_”You always forget to add master.” _

_”It’s not important, don’t be rude.”_ Riku grumbled. 

“That…” King Triton looked surprised as he drifted towards them. “That is a very old language. One i have not heard a word of in decades.” 

Both keybladers shared a confused look. “You know it?” Riku asked. 

King Triton gestured for them to follow him and he led them to a smaller nook in the palace that would offer them more privacy. “I heard it a bit as a child from a group of merfolk that looked more like yourselves than me. It has been quite a long time. They were travelers themselves and though i was quite young i was led to believe it was an old language that they safeguarded.” 

“That’s incredible.” Sora mumbled, leaning against Riku. “We grew up learning it. We’ve actually been slipping into it on accident lately. I didn’t know it was spoken anywhere else.” 

“There’s always a little something that ties each world together. You’re appearances must be common in your world where as you’ve grown older, you seem a little more foreign.” King Triton mused. 

“The Mo’o.” Riku said suddenly. “We must resemble Destiny Island’s merfolk.”

“I didn’t even know they…” Sora cut himself off from saying ‘we’re real’ but his grin said enough. “We have to go see when we get home! I’ll those stories your tutu (4) told us were more than just stories.” 

“Seems so.” Riku chuckled, bowing his head again when the king just watched them curiously. “I apologize for our behavior. We really had no idea our culture had reached this far.” 

King Triton seemed indulgently amused. “It is a great thing to be proud of. You are so very young to be away from home.” 

“Riku looks after me, so it’s okay.” Sora beamed, “And now we’ll have something to share with everyone when we get home too.” 

Riku bumped their arms together, the two of them sharing a long look. “Right.” He agreed before dragging his attention off Sora. “Sora’s told me about what happened here. I’m glad you haven’t been disturbed since that mess.” 

“As am i.” King Triton agreed. “Be that as it may, the two of you should be careful and do what you can you not stir up any trouble. Grateful that i am, world order must still be maintained.” 

“Our appearance notwithstanding, we will be discreet.” Riku promised, bowing his head again. “If all is well, we will be taking out leave.” 

King Triton seemed to take to Riku, appreciating his manners and respect. “I can see why Sora is able to rely on you. You must be quite the formidable team.” 

Sora grinned, linking his arm with Riku’s. “The best, but i guess my opinion is biased.” 

“It must be hard to keep up with him.” King Triton actually shot Riku and amused look that had Riku smirking. 

“He's been trained from a young age to chase after me, actually.” 

“E kala mai iaʻu?” (5) Sora gasped, pinching Riku’s stomach. “I’ll leave you behind and have you find your own way home.” 

“Try.” Riku’s smirk remained. 

Sora pouted and turned his attention back to the King. “It was very nice to see you, your Majesty. I hope things continue to remain peaceful here for the foreseeable future.” 

“Take care, Sora.” King Triton chuckled, obviously foreseeing his next move. 

Sora did a sudden flip in the water, his tail smacking Riku across his chest, sending him sailing backwards as Sora took off. Making good on his threat he swam away, leaving Riku to catch up. 

Riku laughed, floating on his back for a moment before righting himself. He’d seen it coming, but he’d teased first. It was only fair.

“Perhaps you’re the one actually doing all of the chasing.” King Triton commented, their youthful antics thoroughly entertaining him. 

“Yeah.” Riku smiled. “I’d have it no other way. Thank you for seeing us, sir. I hope we get to meet again soon.” 

With a wave from the king, Riku took off after Sora. He was at a disadvantage under water but Sora was out of practice too and had foolishly shown Riku the mermaid kick technique that propelled in faster through the water. It was only a matter of time before Rku tracked him down, even in a world mostly unknown to him. They still had a shipwreck to see and even the ocean wouldn’t keep him from his sky. 

1\. I’m sorry

2\. *from what i understand mo’o is the umbrella term to describe all kinds of water spirits. 

3\. It’s beautiful

4\. grandfather 

5\. Excuse me?

**Author's Note:**

> I love Bilingual Characters!!
> 
> Again, I used Hawaiian because it seemed so perfect for Destiny Island. On Destiny Island it would have been their first language that they learned along side English (or what ever the hell this AllSpeak is that every world in Kingdom Hearts seems to know.) I did however use a translator and i tried not to go too crazy with it. If any translations are wrong please feel free to correct me and i will fix it! Love these islanders.
> 
> I've been kicking around this one shot for months and could quite get a feel for the end of it the way i had the beginning. Then i recently came across some fan art of Sora and it was soo goood. It really just helped inspire the changes i wanted to see in Sora's growing merman form. Some how that boosted my motivation to finish this one. Link below!   
This artist did an amazing job. 
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/cowslip/art/KH-Sora-Atlantica-87903006


End file.
